


Gert's Lullaby

by overcomingthedark



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, another fic exploring how gert's hand ended up on chase's chest that night in the van, inspired by that song gert sings to molly in ep 2- or was it 3?, read the thing, the muse just bit me in the ass and I had no other choice but to write it so here we are i guess!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 05:31:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15163724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overcomingthedark/pseuds/overcomingthedark
Summary: Gert didn't want Chase to think she was thinking about him. Or his ass.~~~It's another how'd-they-end-up-cuddling fic! This time, with more singing!





	Gert's Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> This came about because I bought the Runaways' official soundtrack and Ariela is /actually/ on one of the tracks singing Gert's Lullaby. It's awesome. Fast forward a week and here we are. 
> 
> The only reason this even got posted is because fanfic_or_bust is the literal best and is my new fandom friend (it's chill I'm only still fangirling a lil bit) and encouraged me to post with her kind words and edits here and there. I'm illiterate when it comes to Ao3 so I have no idea how to insert a hyperlink to her page but god DAMN go read all of her gertchase stuff, it's literally the best, just like her! Okay, I think I'm done gushing now. 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy the fic!

     "Gert?" Molly's voice penetrated the relative quiet of rustling fabric and six teenagers breathing in an enclosed space. By unspoken agreement they had all stopped talking and tried to sleep starting about half an hour ago. Gert was pretty sure no one was asleep yet, but if she had to put money on who would already be dreaming it would absolutely be the occasionally narcoleptic strong-woman Molly, so it was a bit surprising she was the first to break the silence.

     "What's up, Molls?" Gert asked, just above a whisper. She felt Chase shift next to her and internally cringed when she realised her hand was basically groping his ass. Okay, not really, it was laying a few centimetres from his lower back but it was too close for comfort and if she moved it now they would both know that's what she was thinking, and Gert didn't want Chase to think she was thinking about him. Or his ass. She wasn't even sure how she ended up laying next to him, but at least he had his back to her. It hurt, initially, when he turned away from her and onto his side, but she tamped that feeling down quickly and reminded herself it was for the best. A tiny voice inside of her asked why, but her anxiety was entirely too powerful a force at the moment to give that voice more than a second of consideration. They could never work. Chase could never care for her the way she cared for him and letting things get too far would only lead to heartbreak.

     Molly spoke back up and interrupted Gert's perpetual train-wreck thought tornado, and Gert could sense a thread of embarrassment woven through her words.

     "Would you sing the song? Please? I just, I can't sleep." Gert's heart broke for her little sister and she wished she was laying next to her so she could hold her hand.

     "Molls, people need to sleep. I don't think the gang wants to hear me warble some stupid song we sang when we were little." Immediately as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She started off with the best of intentions, but embarrassment leaked into her as her mouth kept moving and the words that ended up coming out were careless and mean. Gert made the executive decision yesterday (for the thousandth time) that she was past the point of caring whether or not Chase thought she was cool enough for his attentions, so she didn't know why she kept acting like this. When she glanced at his back, it was rigid.

     Gert sighed when she heard Molly sniffle.

     Karolina sat up on her elbows and looked over at Molly, and then glanced around the others before she made eye contact with Gert.

     "We wouldn't mind," she said softly. "I actually think that would be nice. Don't you think, Nico?" She elbowed the prone goth subtly and Nico murmured in the affirmative, clearly already mostly asleep.

     Gert felt nervousness rise up her throat like bile as she glanced at Chase's stupid tense back one more time, but when she heard Molly sniffle again her mind was made up.

     "Um...okay. But when your ears start to bleed remember you asked for it," she joked.

     She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart and started singing. The first line came out crackly and a little out of tune, but by the end of the second line she had found her footing and was already falling into the comfort of the lullaby.

     As she sang, Chase seemed to melt beside her, relaxing in big pieces. Not that Gert was paying attention. She finished the first verse and hummed for a bit, and by the time she started the second, Chase was on his back and looking at her. She sang straight up at the ceiling of the van, even though she could feel his eyes on her heated face in the dark. She sang out the final line and the haunting lullaby came to a close. It really was a beautiful song.

     The van was silent afterwards, everyone completely still and breathing softly and almost in sync. The best part about it was Molly wasn't sniffling anymore, and Gert was extremely glad she'd decided to sing. Even if it had Chase staring at her. Maybe because of it. Finally, Gert couldn't take it anymore and she turned her head to look at him.

     In the dim, shadowy dark of the van she could just make out the top half of his face- the sharp curve of his perfect nose, his unfairly sculpted eyebrows, and his eyes. God, his eyes. There was so much emotion in them it took her breath away. She wanted to say something, something quippy to get him to laugh, or something spiteful to get him to turn away from her again. But all she could do was stare back and try to keep breathing like a normal human being. She couldn't break eye contact, and she felt more then heard him sigh and settle into this weird, romantically-fraught staring contest.

     Gert felt all the feelings from the dance wind their way back up from the hole she'd crammed them down into, like rapidly growing vines twisting around her bones and constricting her airways, and she couldn't have stopped herself from turning towards Chase even if she wanted to. Which she most definitely didn't.

     Turned towards him, arms curled in front of her chest, she gained a new angle and could see when his lips bent up at the edges, and feel his relieved breath fan across her face. He slowly, as if he were approaching a skittish deer (which honestly wasn't an inaccurate description, Gert chastised herself), reached for her right hand and pulled it onto his chest so he could hold it. Warmth leaked through his shirt and made its way up Gert's arm and into her bloodstream; she could feel him in her toes. She stared at their clasped hands, but could still feel Chase's eyes on her face.

     When she finally tore her eyes away from the sight of their tangled fingers, she was stunned again by how much Chase could communicate with his eyes alone. It made her flush. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but realised where they were and closed it again. He just kept smiling at her, and before shutting his eyes and turning his face back to the ceiling, he mouthed goodnight into their shared breathing space with his stupid, beautiful, entrancing lips.

     It was a long time before Gert could find sleep, but when she did she slept more soundly than she had in weeks. Crammed into the back of a van with five other people and using old clothes as pillows and blankets, she slept well.

**Author's Note:**

> That's all, folks! I hope you had a good time! If you did, why don't you leave me a comment? I'd love to know what you think and I also love chatting with you guys and fangirling over these stupid teenagers, so lets discuss!
> 
> If you want to come over to tumblr and hang out I'm overcoming-the-dark <3
> 
> Thanks guys! xx


End file.
